Are we heading towards another feminist law like the 498A (Law against Dowry) whose rampant misuse has led Supreme Court to declare it as 'legal terrorism'? Sure enough women have been discriminated against, been tortured and suffered from times immemorial but does that justify the fact that some of the major laws in our country taking a highly feminist turn? The misuse of harassment laws has increased by 20 percent cited Times of India on 16th April 2013. One can only imagine what the numbers will be after the High Court ruling that declares premarital consensual sex equivalent to marriage.
When two people decide to be indulging in a physical relationship, it is their duty to be sure of what it means to both of them. It's imperative for them to be on the same page and know whether it's casual or an act of committing to each other for all their lives. It's a personal matter that should be handled well at that level without any melodrama and court intervention.
With the new law, it seems that every relationship gone wrong and any woman with frustration can go to the court and ask the man for the compensation for all lifelong. Imagine happy marriages turning sour with women and men from past relationships claim that they were married first because of the physical act they shared. For women of low earning capacities, cases of fraudulence to use such laws to their benefits to seek compensation are not rare. It's sad that laws that are made for women's safety are becoming threat to innocent men while the men who are really guilty of heinous crimes like rape are still on the loose with numbers increasing every day.
Talking about this one may get reminded of the recent case of Manoj Kumar's suicide due to the harassment by his wife and mother-in-law and threats of getting him jailed under a false 498A (dowry). After this event, Save Indian Family Foundation set up to address grievances of such victims and within about 3 months, more than 500 cases have been registered. Such pitiable is the state of men with the laws regarding dowry and domestic violence.
This new declaration which regards premarital sex as marriage has a lot more negative sides than the what the people are looking at right now and the less talked about subject of harassment of men is one of them. Noted Tamil writer Jayamohan called it is a conservative ruling, since it has taken into consideration only the sufferings of women and not men, especially at a time when premarital sex is very common among the economically independent. "The judgment is right in the sense that the object of all our laws is to protect the interest of the women," he said.
This law diminishes the strong bond of marriage that is much celebrated and respected in India to just a physical bond. It's detrimental for India which after declaration of this law remains stuck between the western influence that makes premarital sex no big deal and Indian laws that bind you with the person with the threads of matrimony.
What is 498a?
Indian Penal Code 498a allows a woman and her family to make a written false complaint of dowry harassment to the police which results in the husband, his parents and relatives being immediately arrested without sufficient investigation and put behind bars without bail. Even if the 498a threat is false, you are presumed guilty until proven innocent.
498a can only be invoked by the wife or her relative. Most 498a cases are mere blackmail attempts by the wife or her close relatives. In most cases, a demand for a large sum of money is offered to the husband in exchange for settlement of the case out of court. There have been countless instances where, without any investigation, the police have arrested elderly parents, unmarried sisters, pregnant sister-in-laws and even 3 year old children. A typical case takes approximately 5-7 years and the conviction rate is only 2%.
There are fundamental problems with 498a in that it is 100% gender biased and singles out men as perpetrators of domestic violence and assumes that only women are victims.
In the United States domestic violence laws are gender neutral and provide protection to the victims, both men and women. If you reside in the United States please call us at (855)-WHY-498A today to set up an appointment with Mrs. Desai to provide you with a plan of action.
Orange County Office:
3111 N. Tustin St., Suite 200
Orange, CA 92865
Long Beach Office:
3605 Long Beach Blvd., Suite 300
Long Beach, CA 90807
St. Louis Office:
8711 St. Charles Rock Road
St. Louis, MO 63114
3111 N. Tustin St., Suite 200
Orange, CA 92865
Long Beach Office:
3605 Long Beach Blvd., Suite 300
Long Beach, CA 90807
St. Louis Office:
8711 St. Charles Rock Road
St. Louis, MO 63114
Contact Information
| Phone: | (855)-WHY-498A |
| Fax: | (714)-637-1713 |
| Email: | info@498alawyer.com |
| Web: | www.498alawyer.com |
No comments:
Post a Comment